In the opening round, held in Windsor: …………………………………………………… The top four seeds face one another but irrespective of the outcome of their games, they get a bye into the quarterfinals. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams dumped the 4th-seeded South Porcupine Roland Michener Rebels 63-36. “We’ve played stronger teams,” said Michener’s Anne Marie Barber. “We figured they’d press well but we also figured we’d handle it better. We kept trying to rush the ball downcourt and they got a big jump on us.” Rams coach Jerry O’Brien noted that “we like to press early and try to establish ourselves.” The Rams led the Saints 32-11 at the half. Nicole Bottineau led St. Joseph’s with 17. Hilary Clarke added 8. Barber led the Saints with 18. Tracy Stevens added 8. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Chatham CI Cougars edged the 2nd-seeded Vankleek Hill Rebels 43-41 on a jumper by Gunjeet Singh with four second remaining. Tiffany Bunning led the Cougars with 18 points and 10 boards. Vicki Wilson led the Rebels with 23 points and 11 boards. Susan Leroy added 13. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles clubbed the 12th-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts 58-18 as Rachelle Cecile scored 9. L’Essor led 33-8 at the half. Renee Dubois notched 14 and Nancy Gosselin 7. Jillian Napier paced the Colts with 10. …………………………………………………… The Penetanguishene Warriors edged the Delhi District Raiders 45-43 as Cathy Pillon scored 18 and Ruby Degenaar 12, along with 11 boards. Natalie McConnell paced Delhi with 11. Pam Vandendriessche added 10. …………………………………………………… The Acton District Bearcats defeated the Nipigon Red Rock District Lakers 60-29 as Susan Craig scored 29 and Jennifer Scott 14. Doris Sarrisin led Red Rock with 8. …………………………………………………… The Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans defeated the Lakefield Tigers 46-39 as Carol Ignatczyk scored 17 and Rhoda Taylor 13. The Trojans led 31-17 at the half. Kim Leslie led the Tigers with 14. Lisa Wierdsma added 10.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The South Porcupine Roland Michener Rebels defeated the Blind River W.C. Eaket Royals 49-36 as Anne Marie Barber scored 27. Donna Carlson and Tracy Morningstar each scored 11 to lead Eaket. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles defeated the Lakefield Tigers 40-27 as Shelley Beausoleil scored 11 and Rachelle Cecile 6. Lisa Wierdsma led Lakefield with 8. …………………………………………………… The Penentanguishene Warriors dumped the Nipigon Red Rock District Lakers 44-30 as Ruby Degennar and Cathy Pillon each scored 16. Annie Imhoff led Nipigon with 10. …………………………………………………… The Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans whipped the Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts 57-23 as Colleen Dineley, Carol Ignatczyk and Elizabeth MacDougall each scored 8. Jillian Napier led Ashbury with 15. The Colts (coached by Andy Sparks, assisted by Robert Napier) also include H. Alyea. N. Burns, Vicki Taylor. Barbara Groot, Lisanne Carruthers, J. Nash. S. Niles, A. Laverendure, A. Rocheleau, K. Yang, S. Levesque, G. Hahn and M. Solomon. …………………………………………………… The Acton District Bearcats defeated the Delhi District Raiders 37-30 as Susan Craig scored 16. Natalie McConnell led Delhi with 11.
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles defeated the 4th-seeded South Porcupine Roland Michener Rebels 38-37 as guard Katie Hendrican, who’d twisted a knee in the preliminary round, came off the bench to score eight points and make two steals in the final quarter. L’Essor tied the game at 31 with four minutes to play on a pair of free throws by Hendrican and finally took the lead on a free throw by Rachelle Cecile with 1:32 to play. “We had to have our outside shots today. It was that or nothing,” Hendrican told the Windsor Star. ‘We’re always afraid of taller teams because we only have one or two tall players.” The Aigles hit 11-13 from the line in the final quarter. Renee Dubois led L’Essor with 11. Cecile added 10. Anna Marie Barber paced the Saints with 14. The Saints also included Graziella Battaglia.
The 3rd-seeded Chatham CI Cougars defeated the Penetanguishene Warriors 52-35. The Cougars outscored the Redskins 21-8 in the third quarter to take command. Penetanguishene had led 18-17 at the half. “We were playing on and off all game,” Cougars guard Gunjeet Singh told the Windsor Star. “And every time we were off, they would catch up.” Singh and fellow guard Stephanie Highgate gave the Redskins fits with their quickness. Singh notched 15 points. Highgate added 12. Ruby Degenaar led the Redskins with 13.
The St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans 45-32. The Rams owned the second half after leading 21-19 at the half. Nicole Bottineau paced the Rams with 19. Michelle Momersteeg added 12 and Denise Perrier 10. Rhonda Taylor led the Trojans with 11. The Trojans (coached by Don MacDougall) also included Christine Van Rijn, Laurie Dyck, Charlene Neudorf, Colleen Dineley, Carol Ignatczyk and Christine Worrall.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Vankleek Hill Rebels nipped the Acton District Bearcats 34-30 as Vicki Wilson scored 13 and Susan Leroy 8. Susan Craig led Acton with 8.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Chatham CI Cougars defeated the 5th-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles 28-24 as Gunjeet Singh scored 12. Chatham outscored L’Essor 10-2 in the second quarter as Susan Black and Gail Martin controlled the boards. Danielle Comeau led Aigles with 9.
In the other semi, the top-seeded St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the 2nd-seeded Vankleek Hill Rebels 53-25 as Michelle Mommersteeg scored 14 and Nicole Bottineau 13. The Rams led 26-12 at the half. Vicki Wilson paced Vankleek Hill with 14 points and 13 boards.
In the bronze medal match, the Vankleek Hill Rebels defeated the Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles 48-35. L’Essor center Renee Dubois told the Windsor Star that the Aigles weren’t as inspired to win the bronze. “We gave our all of the CCI game (in the semis). This game meant a lot but not as much as the CCI game. When you give 110 per cent, it’s hard to give 110 per cent again in another game the same day.” Vankleek Hill won from the line in the final quarter. They’d led 24-16 at the half but L’Essor rallied to within 31-26 after three quarter before faltering. Vicki Wilson led Vankleek Hill with 26. Andrea Bailey added 9. Nancy Gosselin led the Aigles with 9. “We just ran out of steam,” said L’Essor coach Lucien Gava. “CCI was the game for us. But we’re happy.” Les Aigles (coached by Gava) also included Shelley Beausoleil, Katie Hendrican, Rachelle Cecile, Nancy Gosselin, Tony Balestrini.
In the final, the top-seeded St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the 3rd-seeded Chatham CI Cougars 35-21. “There’s always pressure to repeat as champions,” forward Michelle Mommersteeg told the Windsor Star. “I think we had, not cockiness, but enough confidence to go all the way. We played strong clubs along the way to prepare ourselves.” The Rams took a 23-11 lead at the half. “We wanted to keep them from running the pace they’re accustomed to,” said Chatham coach Ron Berlemont. “We wanted to take them out of their comfort zone as I call it. They run and press, run and press.” Mommersteeg finished with 11 points, while Nicole Bottineau notched 9. Denise Perrier and Karen DeCorte controlled the boards for the Rams. Tiffany Bunning paced the Cougars with 11. Gunjeet Singh added only 4, hitting 1-18 from the floor.
The bronze medalist Vankleek Hill Rebels: Vicki Wilson; Andrea Bailey; Susan Leroy;
The silver medalist Chatham Collegiate Institute Cougars: Tiffany Bunning; Tara Smith; Erin Rotschenk; Gunjeet Singh; Gail Martin; Susan Black; Stephanie Highgate; coach Ron Berlemont
The gold medalist St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams: Nicole Bottineau; Michelle Mommersteeg; Denise Perrier; Karen DeCorte; Hilary Clarke; coach Gary Clarke; assistant Jerry O’Brien